Local Anishinabek Police Service detachment to assume jurisdiction in Kettle and Stony Point First Nation

By Colin Graf

CHIPPEWAS OF KETTLE & STONY POINT FIRST NATION—The Anishinabek Police Service (APS) is taking over policing from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on the land where unarmed local activist Dudley George was fatally shot by a provincial officer in 1995.

The First Nations force assumed responsibility for the land of the former army base Camp Ipperwash on Apr.1, after an agreement was reached with the local Chief and Council, Department of National Defense, Public Safety Canada and the APS, according to an APS news release.

The land, known as Stony (or Stoney) Point, was expropriated by the military in May 1942 to create an army training base during World War II.  Families were uprooted and their homes moved to the Kettle Point lands several kilometers away. After the war, the base was eventually converted into a cadet camp. In the early 90s, a group of protesters, many from the original families, moved onto the land, prompting the military to pull out.

George was fatally shot in Sept. 1995, during a confrontation between the occupiers and police after the activists tried to move into the neighbouring Ipperwash Provincial Park. The community voted to accept a $95 million deal with the federal government in 2016, but cleanup of unexploded munitions and other hazards is expected to take close to 20 years.

The APS will continue to provide policing at Kettle Point, but will include “the former Ipperwash location” during the remediation work, the release states.

Kettle & Stony Point Chief Jason Henry welcomes the change in policing.

“There has been a poor relationship [between residents occupying the old army barracks and police] based on what happened in the 90s and historically,” he says.

Chief Henry believes the APS will use community-based policing with “our culture and values at the core.”

The new federal money will allow the hiring of three (3) new officers to help patrol the additional territory, at least one of whom is a Kettle & Stony Point citizen, said APS Inspector Barry Petahtegoose in a telephone interview.

He admits the police have “a bit of work to do with past history with the police there at Camp Ipperwash,” but hopes the new officers can work through those problems.

“I think the residents there are a bit leery about law enforcement, so we want to be able to bridge that gap. I think that’s going to take a bit of time, with dialogue, so that they understand we are there as a positive thing, not a negative thing,” he notes.

Some of the 50-100 residents, including members of Dudley George’s family, have been living in the old army buildings for over 20 years.

The new officers want to conduct community policing activities such as a community barbecue to introduce themselves to the residents, Petahtegoose says.  They had two (2) preliminary meetings at the site before taking over responsibility but had a “very small turnout,” he notes.  There are “some long-standing issues, but we are kind of trying to work through those,” he explains.

Chief Henry says the OPP’s work at the site for the last 20 years has been “very reactive” and often Kettle and Stony Point APS officers were invited to go in before the OPP entered anyway.  He says the change is positive also in bringing the money for the extra police work “back into our community to support our community in growing.”  He says the new officers do not plan to be “heavy-handed,” but want to be “a presence and help our community move into the future.”

“We will strive to provide effective, efficient, proud, trustworthy and accountable service while respecting traditional cultural values and protection of inherent rights and freedoms,” the news release says. “We look forward to providing community based policing strategies to the community members. The Kettle and Stony Point Detachment will be working closely with both communities to ensure a smooth transition in addressing policing need.”